Women's Coalition Rallies to Defend Mrs. Clinton

By GWEN IFILL,

Published: March 29, 1994

WASHINGTON, March 28—
A group of Democratic women, tied by politics to the White House but purposefully steering clear of direct Administration influence, has begun a campaign to defend Hillary Rodham Clinton against attacks arising from her participation in the Whitewater land deal.

Dozens of women, some of whom have expressed frustration among themselves about Mrs. Clinton's choice not to speak out vigorously on her own behalf, have been meeting for a month here to plot ways to strike back at what they consider unfair press coverage and partisan assault.

At meetings among Democrats around the country, they have been distributing lapel stickers that read, "Don't pillory Hillary." In the weeks ahead, they plan to begin writing letters to newspaper editorial pages, telephoning radio talk programs and appearing on television to assert that Mrs. Clinton has come under attack because she is an untraditional First Lady who wields unusual power.

As its first step into the arena of national opinion, the informal group has bought a full-page advertisement in the Tuesday issue of The New York Times that likens Mrs. Clinton to Eleanor Roosevelt and disputes several accusations central to the Whitewater inquiry. The advertisement was paid for with $50,000 in donations from individuals around the country. At least 40 people gave donations of $1,000 or more, organizers said, adding that no donations came from political action committees or corporations. It was unclear whether any of the donations were much larger than $1,000. Leaders of Campaign

The defense of Mrs. Clinton has been coordinated by Lynn Cutler and Ann F. Lewis, two consultants in Washington with long ties to the Democratic Party. The group has grown to include Clinton supporters like Susan Thomases, a New York lawyer and Clinton campaign expert on damage control; Joanne Woodward, the actress; Letty Cottin Pogrebin, the writer, and a few men, including Tony Randall, the actor, and Michael D. Barnes and Tony Coelho, both former members of Congress.

Specifically not included on the list are current elected officials and members of the Administration. Organizers have taken pains to keep the defense effort officially independent of the White House image-making operation.

Organizers concede there have been "after hours" conversations about the matter with White House officials. "Running a full-page ad is not exactly a secret strategy," Ms. Lewis said.

But she, Ms. Cutler and Clinton advisers who said they knew nothing of the campaign played down such influence, saying their participation would only taint an otherwise spontaneous effort. A White House aide said Mrs. Clinton was unaware of the campaign being conducted in her behalf.

Ms. Cutler said that Mrs. Clinton's defenders had been almost entirely absent in responding to what she and others term "Hillary bashing," particularly in the lively world of television and radio call-in programs.

"These people have right-wing scripts in their hands when they call," she said of those criticizing Mrs. Clinton. "They're all over this thing like hot butter on toast."

The effort to rescue Mrs. Clinton from the Whitewater whirlpool began as many Washington efforts do -- at a political cocktail party, participants said. It continued around a conference table at the Kamber Group, a downtown consulting firm, and flourished in the chatter of daily conversation at various political meetings.

Sacha Millstone, a stockbroker who does not know Mrs. Clinton personally, said she felt it was past time that Mrs. Clinton's admirers spoke up in her behalf. "More criticism has been heaped on them than is deserved," Ms. Millstone said. "Some criticism is deserved, but not at the noise level that has been reached." Questions on Commodities Deal

"It upsets me to no end that a relatively insignificant thing that happened in 1978 that was poorly handled in 1992 and 1993 has come to dominate the discussion every weekend," she said, referring to weekend talk programs.

But some supporters also worry that Mrs. Clinton has done too little to promote her own cause. She has offered terse, almost offhand, responses to reporters' questions while she has traveled the country on behalf of the Administration's proposals to overhaul the health care system.

The White House said tonight that it was considering releasing more information about a commodities investment that netted Mrs. Clinton about $100,000 in 1978-79. The deal was made with the help and advice of a Clinton confidant, James B. Blair, the top lawyer for Tysons Foods Inc., one of the most powerful and heavily regulated companies in Arkansas.

Dee Dee Myers, the spokeswoman, did not say what information the White House had in mind. Mrs. Clinton has avoided offering any lengthy formal responses to accounts of that arrangement or the Whitewater land deal. That has been left to her husband, who has praised her integrity, defended her investments and, at last week's news conference, asserted that reporters could get answers to their questions by simply calling Mrs. Clinton and asking her. Question Goes Unanswered

That proved less than so the next day, when NBC News reported that Mrs. Clinton cut off questioning from an NBC Newschannel reporter when she was asked about Whitewater instead of health care. White House officials say Mrs. Clinton did not answer the Whitewater question because of a satellite transmission problem and had responded to other questions about it earlier that day.

But the women who are trying to patch up the damage done to Mrs. Clinton's reputation, as recorded in sliding opinion polls, are also waiting for the White House to act more aggressively in defending Mrs. Clinton. They have debated among themselves whether Mrs. Clinton should hold a full dress news conference or appear in an appropriate television forum to tell her side of the story.

Ultimately, however, they have decided that is a decision for Mrs. Clinton and her advisers to make. An aide said Mrs. Clinton had no immediate plans to change her approach.

Ms. Cutler said it was Mrs. Clinton's supporters, not her detractors, who most needed to hear her offer a vigorous rebuttal to her critics. "They don't believe she did anything wrong for a minute," she said. "But they kind of want to hear from her." Defense in Advertisement

In the advertisement in The Times, supporters dismiss the most serious questions raised about Mrs. Clinton's role. They say she did not represent Madison Guaranty, an Arkansas savings and loan at the center of the inquiry, before state regulators while her husband was Governor. (Mrs. Clinton's name was signed to a letter from her law firm regarding the Madison case that was sent to regulators).

And they assert the Clintons' investment in the Whitewater land deal was never financed by a savings and loan. (Robert B. Fiske Jr., the special counsel, is investigating whether James B. McDougal, an owner of Madison, used funds from the failing institution to support the Whitewater venture.)

But organizers of the defense effort say they worry most that the Whitewater-related attacks have more to do with Mrs. Clinton's stature as an independent career woman with power than with her actions regarding Whitewater. "There was resentment and anger there that was repressed for a while that is finding its excuse around Whitewater," Ms. Lewis said.

Photo: Lynn Cutler, left, and Ann F. Lewis, two consultants in Washington, who are leading a campaign to defend Hillary Rodham Clinton against attacks arising from her role in the Whitewater affair. (Kirsten Bremmer for The New York Times)